BAC Florida Bank boosted its loan portfolio by $26 million during the first quarter as its profits improved.

The Coral Gables-based bank, which specializes in home loans for foreign residents and trade finance, had $1.02 billion in loans on March 31, up from $994 million on Dec. 31. Both foreign home purchasing and international trade have been growing in Miami.

The bank earned $1.6 million in the first quarter, up from earnings of $1.1 million in the fourth quarter. It was aided by growth of its net interest income to $8.5 million, from $8.3 million.

BAC Florida Bank took a $1 million expense for future loan losses in the first quarter, up from a $620,000 expense in the fourth quarter.

The bank had $27.3 million in noncurrent loans, or 2.63 percent of total loans, on March 31, down from $33.9 million in noncurrent loans, or 3.35 percent, on Dec. 31.

It held $17.8 million in reserve for future loan losses to cover 65 percent of its noncurrent loans on March 31.

BAC Florida was the 11th-largest bank based in South Florida on Dec. 31 with $1.31 billion in assets. Its assets were unchanged by March 31.

Its deposits grew to $972 million on March 31, up from $939 million on Dec. 31.

Industries:

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.